How do brokers beat the heat?

by Donald Horne17 Jul 2013

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How do brokers beat the heat?

The dog days of summer are upon us, and brokers are finding clever ways to accommodate overheated clients and ensure deals done.

“On days like today, I’m doing most of my work on the phone and paperwork,” says Omer Quenneville, Centum Regal Financial. “And I’m doing it from home – in the air conditioning. I take every advantage I can to work indoors.”

The heatwave is expected to continue this week, as temperatures in the Golden Horseshoe area of Ontario are reach 33 Celsius, with the humidex making it feel more like 37 degrees. Thursday and Friday temperatures are forecast to be 31 and 32 degrees Celsius. Toronto has issued heat alerts and has opened cooling centres throughout the city.

For Quenneville, he alters his schedule to ensure that both he and the client can meet without the added stress of heat and road rage.

“I try to have meetings after 6:30 p.m., that way we can avoid the heat of the day and the stress of traffic,” he says. “We all know that days like these can make people more prone to short tempers while driving. And it is hard to make good decisions in the heat – a lot of clients find it difficult to think in this kind of heat, and want to take the deal home with them to think over. This way, scheduling it in the evening, we can get things done.”

In Ottawa, temperatures are expected to top out at 34 Celsius (without the humidex), and a forecast of mixed sun and thundershowers of 30 degrees Thursday and 28 Celsius Friday.

Jeff Cody, a managing partner at the Mortgage Centre Mortgage Brokers Ottawa, is just happy to be rid of the cold, rainy spring that seemed to hang on forever.

“We shouldn’t complain. All you have to do is hop in and out of the air-conditioned car, and work in the air-conditioned office,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “I don’t think that the heat changes anything. I still remember that rainy, cold spring that seemed to never end. It is nice to have some summer finally.”

But weather may have less of an impact on clients than some brokers fear.

“If they want a home, they don’t care what the weather is,” says Cody. “Today the temperature is supposed to reach 45 Celsius with the humidex here in Ottawa. All you have to do is stay in the air conditioning.”